A foster carer from Oxford has shared her story for Foster Care Fortnight in the hopes of encouraging others to give it a go. 

Susan Hannon has been fostering children with Oxfordshire County Council for 35 years as a single carer, with two children of her own and has shared her story for a national fortnight dedicated to raising awareness of fostering.

The 69-year-old started fostering in 1987 when her children were 10 and 16, and now they are adults with children of their own. 

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She said: "My son had a friend at school whose parents were foster carers, and this prompted me to enquire. I met with a social worker and was approved.

"I don’t mind being forgotten; I just want them to have some nice memories from their childhood.”

Ms Hannon has fostered both long term and short term and offered emergency care, which is caring for children at very short notice just for a few days.

Most of the young people she fosters have additional needs.

On what it takes to be a good foster carer she said: "I would say you need to be a patient person.

"You need to have a calm manner; and a relaxed, welcoming, and safe home environment.

"You certainly need an open mind and open heart. It will take time to get to know the child you foster. You must live with and experience them for who they are to truly help them."

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As well as the daily care, foster carers provide opportunities and support to help the children develop a positive relationship with their birth family.

The father of a child that Susan cares for says: “I can't praise or thank Susan enough with words. Personally, I am learning so much about my daughter’s needs and how to handle situations.

“Whereas before I would have been out of my depth but thanks to Susan, I am starting to actually learn to understand her and her thinking, which means I am on the right path to achieving my goal of being more than a father but actually becoming her dad.”

Running from May 9 until May 22, Foster Care Fortnight is a national campaign to raise awareness of how people can get involved with foster care.

Oxfordshire County Council foster carers get these benefits for fostering:

  • A welcome payment of £1,500, to help make the transition to foster carer.
  • Generous fees, paid in addition to the child’s allowance, based on experience and skills.
  • Dedicated social worker support.
  • Access to professionals involved with the child/children, linked with support groups and specialised training.

There is more information about this on the council webpage.

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